I Am Heaven

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production year

1970

Premiere

25 June 1971

Runtime

80 min

Director

Jan Kačer

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Jsem nebe

Czech title

Jsem nebe

English title

I Am Heaven

Summary

At the end of the 1960s, film actor Jan Kačer decided to enrich his filmography by venturing into directing. His perceived failure in this venture is largely attributed to the advent of the post-1968 “normalisation” era: following the political parable Den sedmý, osmá noc (The Seventh Day, the Eighth Night, 1969), co-directed with Evald Schorm, Kačer was no longer able to make films dealing with genuine contemporary issues. Alongside the communist-themed “Building a better future” film Město mé naděje (The Town of my Hopes, 1978), Kačer only made one other feature, namely the drama Jsem nebe (I Am Heaven, 1970). The story takes place in the town of Bechyně, where Kačer graduated in ceramics at a technical university. The protagonist of the story is Lenka (Lenka Machoninová), who, along with friend Markéta (singer Miluše Voborníková) sets out on a trip along with her boyfriend Pavel (Ivan Vyskočil) and his friend Honza (singer Viktor Sodoma). The better-looking girl attracts the attentions of not only both men, but also a band of hooligans at the town funfair.

Synopsis

In the South Bohemian little town Bechyně, young Lenka prepares for her meeting with Pavel, who is visiting her from Prague. She invites her girlfriend Markéta to accompany her to the date. Pavel is not alone, either - his friend Honza arrived with him on a scooter. The young people walk through the forest and have a bath in the small forest lake. As the day goes, it becomes gradually clear that both the boys are interested in the more attractive Markéta. Lenka is unhappy and runs deep into the forest, but eventually, they all meet together again. On the way back, they drop by a country fair in a village, running into a gang of motorcycle riders who are after Markéta. Honza and Pavel only hardly bear the situation but do not have enough courage to stand up against the big gang. They are, moreover, jealous of each other. Their silent fight for Markéta culminates in a fight with Honza as the loser. The fight is halted by Markéta, who leaves with Honza on a scooter, and Pavel, wordlessly, walks Lenka home. He meets Honza on the road. Both friends reconcile and leave for Prague. The sad Lenka finds her sister in tears at home - her date failed, too. Lenka overcomes her pain and comforts her sister with her favourite magic formula: "I Am Heaven, I Am Heaven".

Cast

Miluše Voborníková

Markéta, Lenčina kamarádka

Marcela Mlacovská

Irena, Lenčina sestra

Milan Koutný

Milan

Luděk Eliáš

řidič starého auta

Petr Drobný

Petr

Stanislava Dobrá

dívka z party

Josef Dřízhal

Josef

Jiří Cihelka

motorista s květinami

Jiří Čihák

Jirka

Miroslav Mikeš

Mirek

Zdeněk Kudrna

Zdeněk

Josef Matějka

Pepík

Miroslav Nohýnek

milenec Ireny

Karel Pavelka

Karel

Jiří Vojtěch

Jiří

Arne Poledňák

Arne

Josef A. Stehlík

cirkusák s loutkovým divadlem

Jaroslav Drbohlav

mladý kočí

Václav Helšus

člen party

Jiří Schmalz

motorista

Crew and creators

Director

Jan Kačer

Second Unit Director

Rudolf Růžička

Assistant Director

Robert Vacík, Jitka Faktorová

Screenstory

Iva Hercíková

Shooting Script

Iva Hercíková, Jan Kačer

Director of Photography

Ivan Šlapeta

Second Unit Photography

Richard Valenta

Camera Operator

Oldřich Kovář

Production Designer

Milan Nejedlý

Assistent Production Designer

Jan Sedláček

Set Designer

Jaroslav Chytrý, Eva Slívová, Dana Smržová

Costume Designer

Bedřich Dlouhý

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Vilemína Binterová

Sound Designer

František Fabián

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Jan Balzer

Unit Production Manager

Jiří Holeček, Jan Šuster

Unit Production Manager

Oldřich Mach

Cooperation

Jiřina Černá (klapka), Miloslav Mirvald (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Petr Skoumal

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), skupina Apollobeat (Music Conducted by Jan Spálený)

Songs

Všechno je proměnlivé

Song Composer Petr Skoumal
Writer of Lyrics Jan Vodňanský
Singer Petr Spálený

Krajino, krajino, krajino neveselá

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Miluše Voborníková

Belinda

Song Composer Chris Andrews
Writer of Lyrics Eduard Krečmar
Singer Jiří Štědroň

Production info

Original Title

Jsem nebe

Czech Title

Jsem nebe

English Title

I Am Heaven

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production Year

1970

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 15 June 1970
technical Screenplay approved 6 July 1970
start of filming 21 July 1970
end of filming 28 August 1970
the first film copy approved 7 December 1970
projection approval 28 December 1970
withdrawal from distribution 1 June 1976

Premiere

premiere 17 June 1971 /suitable for youths/ (kino Sevastopol, Praha)
premiere 25 June 1971 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Bohumila Šmídy, Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

80 min

Original length in metres

2 265 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech